7 billionth baby battle

Two Russian regions claim they have become the birthplace of the planet’s 7 billionth person.

The two pretenders were born at the opposite ends of Russia in the early hours of Monday morning, Oct. 31, according to their local time.

But even though Sasha from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was born nearly nine hours earlier, Petya from Kaliningrad, Russia’s most western region, received a certificate from the United Nations Population Fund confirming his status.

Far East wants to claim the 7 billion crown

The authorities of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky region in the Far East, however, doubt the decision. “Our country begins with Kamchatka. Therefore we believe that a baby from Kamchatka has become the first child born in Russia on the Day of Seven Billion,” the region’s governor, Vladimir Ilyukhin said, according the region’s official website.

The special certificate was to be given to the first baby who would be born on Oct. 31, the UNPF decided, but since it’s impossible to find out precisely who it will be, this is more like a symbolic gesture, RIA Novosti reported.

Sasha from Kamachatka has become the first baby of his 22-year old mother, and got a special certificate from the governor. His parents will also receive a two-room flat in the region’s capital, when they come to register their marriage.

Russia’s Far East, which the Kamchatsky region is part of, currently has the most rapid population decline in the country, according the most recent Census data.

Certified 7 billionth baby

Petya from Kaliningrad has become the third child in his family. The capital of Russia’s most western region was picked to host a presentation of a new UNPF’s report that analyses the “problems and opportunities of the world with a population of 7 billion,” the city administration wrote on its website earlier.

And “a Kalinigradian who will come into the world at night, on Oct. 31, is to become the 7billionth resident of the planet, and his mother will be given a certificate ‘Born on the day of 7 billion,’” the website read.

The similar certificate has been given to Danica May Camacho, born in Manila in the Philippines, Interfax reported. And according to UK-based charity Plan International, a girl called Nargis born in a small village in Indian Uttar Pradesh should be given this title.

According the to the UNPF report, the world’s population is to grow by another billion in the next 13 years.